What about the possibility of an NASL team taking part in the CCL? Some around the league would like to see it happen, and there are currently two paths to that end, a team either winning the Lamar Hunt Open Cup, or winning the Canadian Championship.The Carolina RailHawks advanced as far as the quarterfinals of the Open Cup, and FC Edmonton played in the semi-finals of the Canadian Cup, falling in a two-game set to Vancouver Whitecaps FC.RailHawks coach Colin Clarke would like to see an NASL qualify via another route.

"I think the NASL champion should qualify," said Clarke. "The standards and the quality of some of the teams from some of the smaller countries are certainly not up to the standards of NASL."

What about the possibility of an NASL team taking part in the CCL? Some around the league would like to see it happen, and there are currently two paths to that end, a team either winning the Lamar Hunt Open Cup, or winning the Canadian Championship.The Carolina RailHawks advanced as far as the quarterfinals of the Open Cup, and FC Edmonton played in the semi-finals of the Canadian Cup, falling in a two-game set to Vancouver Whitecaps FC.RailHawks coach Colin Clarke would like to see an NASL qualify via another route.

"I think the NASL champion should qualify," said Clarke. "The standards and the quality of some of the teams from some of the smaller countries are certainly not up to the standards of NASL."

What about the possibility of an NASL team taking part in the CCL? Some around the league would like to see it happen, and there are currently two paths to that end, a team either winning the Lamar Hunt Open Cup, or winning the Canadian Championship.The Carolina RailHawks advanced as far as the quarterfinals of the Open Cup, and FC Edmonton played in the semi-finals of the Canadian Cup, falling in a two-game set to Vancouver Whitecaps FC.RailHawks coach Colin Clarke would like to see an NASL qualify via another route.

"I think the NASL champion should qualify," said Clarke. "The standards and the quality of some of the teams from some of the smaller countries are certainly not up to the standards of NASL."

Cruz Azul finally broke their 17-year-old major title drought, picking up their first piece of serious hardware in nearly two decades thanks to an away goals win over Toluca in the CONCACAF Champions League final on Wednesday night.

The teams drew both legs, but La Maquina's 1-1 draw at Toluca on Wednesday trumped the scoreless opener in Mexico City last week. Cruz Azul's last major title was the 1997 Invierno to top what was then known as the Primera Division. They also won the 2013 Copa MX.

CONCACAF unveils Champions League group stage schedule which kicks off August 5

The first matchday will be played on August 5 and it wraps up on October 23. Only the winners of the eight groups will advance, leading to the elimination of 16 of the 24 participating teams in the group stage.

The quarterfinals, semifinals and final will be played in the spring of 2015.

Yay Timbers! (4-1 win over Alpha United in Guyana, whereas Olimpico only beat Alpha 1-0 in the same stadium... cricket stadium. Nasty hard dirt gash in an off-centered middle of the pitch. Kind of funny.)

Having said that, Cruz Azul only drawing with Alajuelense at home and losing 1-0 at Chorillo makes that the interesting group. The current champions may not get out of the group stage.

A sorry Montreal team wins home and away with FAS (but Red Bulls still have yet to play a game in that group).

Kansas City managed a draw at Nicaragua's Real Esteli. Since Esteli also drew Saprissa at home, one fluky goal may end up being the difference between SKC and Saprissa.

Timbers beat CD Olimpia last night 4:2. The goalkeeping at both ends left much to be desired, but Maxi Urruti earned two goals for Portland. Big win helps Portland immensely in Group 5, but the game in Tegucigalpa next month is still the key game in the group.

DC United is all but through from Group 4 after beating Waterhouse in "The Office" last night in Jamaica. Taking one point from Panama's FC Tauro is all that's required. Fabian Espindola's first goal was a beaut and his second was a decent header. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hl-k580 ... r_embedded

Cruz Azul righted their ship a bit beating Chorillo 3:0 last night, but they have 4 points and 1 game left at Alajuelense in Group 6, while the Costa Ricans still have another game with Chorillo.

Tonight... Montreal beat the Red Bulls 1:0 to take command in Group 3.

Municipal bested Real Espana 3:0 to emerge as the challenger to Pachuca in Group 1.

Bayamon FC 1. Club America 10. The Aguilas only need a result at home against Comunicaciones to take Group 8.

...and the funny thing with CONCACAF is that goal difference and away goals as tiebreakers is first tallied head to head...

...if the game draws 0:0, America advances for having scored at Comunicaciones. If 1:1, the tiebreakers go to overall goal difference and America advances. At 2:2 or more, Comunicaciones advances.

- Group 6, Tuesday October 21, Alajuelense hosts Cruz Azul in Alajuela. Cruz Azul has to win, Alajuelense need only draw or better.

- Group 5, Tuesday October 21, CD Olimpia hosts Portland Timbers in Tegucigalpa. The Timbers need only win, draw, or lose by one goal. Olimpia got two goals in Portland, so a 2:0 or 3:1 win or a win by at least 3 goals puts Olimpia through.

- Group 2, Thursday October 23, Saprissa hosts Sporting Kansas City in San Jose. Kansas City need only win, draw, or lose by one goal. Saprissa needs either a 2:0 win or win by at least 3 goals to advance.

NOTE: Total number of points in the standings and goal difference does matter for seeding the knockout rounds. Since Pachuca, Montreal, DC, and Portland are still perfect, there's some incentive for each team to win and score many goals in the process.

The CONCACAF Champions League is the annual international club football championship for teams from the CONCACAF region (North America, Central America, and the Caribbean). The competition is open to the leading teams in the region and replaced the CONCACAF Champions' Cup, which ran from 1962 to 2008. The winner earns a berth in the following year's FIFA Club World Cup, which pits each continental confederation's champion against the others annually.

The 2011–12 CONCACAF Champions League is the 4th edition of the CONCACAF Champions League under its current format. The tournament began on July 26, 2011 and finish with the second leg of the final April 24–26, 2012. The winner will qualify as the CONCACAF representative at the 2012 FIFA Club World Cup.Twenty-four teams will participate in the 2011–12 CONCACAF Champions League from the North American, Central American, and Caribbean zones. Nine (9) teams from North Americatwelve (12)from Central Americathree (3) from the Caribbean

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